Should we even pretend?
by Forohe Toxophilus
Summary: Atlantis has been taken by Replicators, and Rodney McKay's virus is the only way to get past the shield- except that it sent them to an entirely different, parallel, universe. THIS IS A TEST FLAG. I'm trying out the waters of this type of fic. Never attempted a crossover, so this will be interesting. More information inside.


**A/N-** This is only a test flag- I want to know the general reaction from you all who would read this, and what would be preferable in a story of this kind. I want to know how this would do. I can make the guarantee that I will only upload quality chapters, and that will take a hella long time. I'm only on the second one- but I feel like I would seriously have to modify things in the Mass Effect storyline, so if you all don't mind, leave your thoughts.

Thanks, and enjoy!

* * *

_Part One- Going Home _

Their plan had to work. It was the only way they could secure Atlantis back from the Replicators, and if Rodney couldn't get that shield didn't go down, there was no chance for them to get there in the first place.

The scientist, furiously fumbling with the Puddle Jumper's crystal board and mumbling to himself things that could go wrong, had a habit of vocalizing the impossibilities of his task. That said, John wasn't listening to him.

It was comforting that Teyla's encampment had lasted that long without an Atlantis to call on for help. She did not mention any attacks on their village by the Wraith, no rogue Genii incursions or unpleasant visits from any of the nastier aspects of the local wildlife. And now that he had Ronon and Teyla to back him up, he couldn't think of a better team to take out an entire city of synthetic life forms, and rescue General O'Neill.

Their smiling faces told him that he was never forgotten by the Athosians, and they were always all too grateful to see the Atlantis expedition at any time. Teyla in particular was excited to see him, although she was somewhat reserved in any of their conversations, and confided in Ronon more than he'd ever seen her be before. Maybe it was because he was the only other tie to Atlantis she had since they were evicted almost two months ago. He hoped they would warm up to him quickly enough.

"John?" a curious voice said from behind him. He turned around and tilted his head sideways, as Elizabeth Weir walked up to him, now in full combat gear. She always seemed out of place in anything but her civilian clothes, and her formal-wear. He never pictured her in a outfit like this.

"What is it Elizabeth?" he asked, resting his hands over the ARG strapped to his chest.

She appeared somewhat nervous to him. Of course, that could just be the firelight playing tricks on his eyes. "I don't know if I'm really ready to take on something like this. I'm not a good shot, you know that, and despite how much we've worked together, I'm not terribly good with your signals..." Weir stopped trying to make her point and sighed. "I'm just not sure what a help I can be in this situation."

Sheppard smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry. As long as you keep to the center of the group, you'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to you." He held her shoulder and looked right into her eyes. She seemed curious at his words, and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Nothing will happen to me? Specifically?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

John caught his tongue and stepped back. "Well, you, Carson and McKay. All you, 'not so good' fighters. I don't like having people die. You know, ever."

Weir grinned, taking in his haste to rephrase with good humor. "No one's going to die John. We'll just follow you and everything will work out."

Sheppard suppressed a laugh and scratched his head. "Thanks for the confidence, but I'm not sure what we're up against. We could easily be blown out of the sky the minute we enter the control room." He sighed and looked straight at her again. "I don't know what kind of opposition we're facing. I know what we're up against, but I don't know what they've done to Atlantis. So, for all intensive purposes, we're flying blind."

Weir nodded, understanding. "I know," she told him, and smiled slightly, hoping to calm his fears. "But weren't we always?"

John stopped thinking a moment, and raised an eyebrow at her. "I guess so," he admitted, hoping her confidence was well placed in him. "But we have to do this right," he added, standing up straight and breathing deeply in the cooler night time air. He grinned and cracked his neck, like he always did. "Let's go see how Rodney's doing."

* * *

It had been a nice six or so weeks with her people. Everything they did was kind to him, accepting. He thanked whoever was out there watching over him that he did not encounter them while running. They were so kind and understanding, and were not nervous at all around him after the first few days. Of course, there was some animosity towards him from a few of the Athosians because of his evident closeness with her, but that was because they were the only two left from Atlantis. That was a bond that was simple, yet remarkably strong. They had experienced things he never would have dreamt of back when he lived on Sateda. He'd freed slaves, incited a rebellion, taught other soldiers, served with ones who fought the Wraith vigorously, and found his closest friend since... the invasion.

But now he had a new mission. To retake what he was beginning to see as home. To fight those who wanted him dead once more, and with his closest comrades beside him the whole time. He knew they could not fail once the plan was in motion.

He heard the distinct light tread of Teyla behind him. He turned his head, and saw her standing a slight distance away from him, just outside the grove of trees.

"What's up?" he asked, not bothering to face her entirely. He didn't think they would be standing still too much longer; might as well enjoy the sight of the moon for another moment or so.

"I was just wondering where you were," she explained, walking slowly to his side. Her eyes flashed as she walked into the dim light, giving a sharp and striking contrast to the moon's glow. But they seemed rather watery, and her voice was weaker than usual. Something was up, and he felt it wasn't terribly good.

"Okay," he said, nodding, not mentioning his observation directly, and instead giving her an inquiring look before returning his gaze to the moon's soft white light. "So what did you want to talk about?" he finally asked, after she stood next to him for almost a minute.

She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, blinking away the moisture from them. "Nothing. I just had a conversation with a few of my people."

Ronon took a deep breath. _Oh boy. I bet that didn't go well._ "What about?"

"About me leaving mostly," she said, and at length, added, "And Kanaan wanted a word with me."

_That definitely didn't go well then._ He sighed. "Right. I can't imagine that he was thrilled about you leaving again."

"No," she admitted, a trying smile forcing itself over her cadence. "He was, displeased with my decision." She looked up to him, her face awash with emotion. "He offered to be my husband."

Ronon finally faced her. "What?" he asked, wondering if he had, in fact, heard her correctly.

Teyla clenched her jaw. "Kanaan offered to take me as his own, if I stayed here with him, and not go with you all." She looked to the ground, and Ronon knew what was coming next. "I said no."

He knew that was what she was going to say. He knew Kanaan really did love her, and he knew that she loved him. But something made her say no, which told him that something else was more important.

"Does Atlantis really mean that much to you?" Ronon asked, hoping she knew what she was doing.

She nodded. "Yes. Atlantis is not just my beacon of hope. It is the vanguard of a future without Wraith. That future is more important than anything else I have in my life. And maybe he will still want me after we complete that mission. But, right now, I want the Wraith gone more than I want… him." She stumbled on the last few words, telling Ronon she was leaving something out. He wouldn't press for it. It didn't matter terribly to him. He knew that she was speaking the truth, and he knew that she wouldn't let something like this get in her way for too long.

He smiled at her and patted her shoulder. "Thanks. I'm glad you're coming. Wouldn't have anyone else watching my back."

Teyla bit her lip back and nodded. "Thank you for having… confidence in my decision Ronon," she said hesitantly, before straightening herself up again. "Let us go and see how the modifications are going. Rodney must be coming close to a solution for our shield problem."

Ronon lifted his hand from her shoulder and nodded. "Right then. Let's go."

* * *

"Rodney, you need something to drink. You haven't stopped working on that thing for four hours now."

All that mattered to him now was that console. The water could wait. There was no rush for it, and he wasn't really thirsty. So there was no point to drinking anything when he could finish what he was working on right then. Or soon. Maybe within half an hour. Which was soon enough, right?

The Ancients had made it deliberately difficult to modify the transmitter array on the Puddle Jumpers probably just for this reason. They didn't want someone stealing it, like a rogue Ancient, and using it to infest their systems with a devastating virus, or something like that. But luckily, he was just as good at figuring out these systems as the creators of them were. There was no need for him to worry himself. He'd never failed figuring out how to modify this technology, and he wouldn't this day. There was no way.

"Rodney, you need water. You're going white, and you… you're not looking too healthy there. Have a sip."

A canteen found its way to be in front of his face. That was annoying. He swatted it away without so much as a second thought and continued with his work. A firm hand grasped his shoulder and shook him a little bit, causing his instrument datapad to slip in his hand. He caught the datapad, and accidentally hit a few keys, but nothing serious happened. Frantically, he checked the keys hit, and didn't see anything wrong with the new readings. He cleared them and then turned around to Carson, who had a very demeaning look on his face.

"Rodney, you need some water. You haven't drank anything since we left Stargate Command, and that was well over seven hours ago. Take some water."

He blinked and eventually reached out to take the water. "Fine," he grumbled, aggravated that the doctor had interrupted his work. He took a gulp and the cold fluids raced through his throat, saturating it in its life giving coating. He felt his entire body cool down, and his mouth and throat become far less parched then they were earlier. He shook his head, surprised.

Carson nodded, an annoyance coating his tone. "Now do you see what I was saying?"

Rodney sighed and nodded, taking another large gulp of water. "Yes Carson," he admitted, handing the canteen back to the doctor. "It was very refreshing. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm almost done here. Then we can go and save Atlantis."

Carson sighed and shook his head. He sat down across from Rodney and watched for a moment, before asking, "What exactly are you doing anyways?"

The scientist grumbled something explicit, but answered as civilly as he could. "I'm resetting the transmitter arrays to launch a virus into their shield stability systems and deactivate the shield for a while. That will hopefully give us enough time to fly through and drop the package."

Carson raised an eyebrow. "Um, that's a good thing?" he asked, confused as to what Rodney had just rapidly spat out.

"Of course it's a good thing Carson. We won't die when we go through the Stargate now. Because the shield is down," Rodney explained, exasperated by the continuing interruptions caused by Carson.

The doctor thought through this. "Rodney, you're sure this'll work?"

"Yes I'm sure. It will work for a short period of time, and then we'll have to find a way to get out of there."

"Ah. Right. Of course." Carson didn't seem all that confident. That bugged McKay.

"Okay Carson. What's wrong?" Rodney asked finally, fed up with the surgeon's constant interruptions.

The Scotsman sighed. "I just don't feel like such a big help in this situation. I don't shoot things, you know that. How am I supposed to take on a whole base of people?"

McKay snorted softly and turned to him, smiling in his very superior manner. "Well, you're not taking on a base on your own. You've got me, Sheppard, Weir, Teyla and Ronon right there with you. And your Hippocratic Oath shouldn't get in the way since these aren't people, they're robots."

Carson glared at him. "They're sentient synthetic life forms Rodney. They have consciousnesses. They're more human than you'd think. And I know that sounds bad, but it's true."

McKay shook his head and turned back to the Jumper's console system. Smiling, he tapped at his radio. "Sheppard, I've got the system modified. We're good to go."

There was a pause, before Sheppard replied. "Great Rodney. Everyone, we're good to go."

Rodney closed the system and sat down across from Carson. He picked up the canteen and took another sip, his thirst actually catching up to him then. "Huh," he muttered, licking his lips and taking another gulp.

"I said that you should have some water," Carson stated, shaking his head. He grinned at Rodney, knowing the man would have some sort of comeback.

As expected, the scientist glared at him and sighed heavily. "I would have figured out that I was thirsty at some point," he declared, smugly. With that, he took a third drink from the canteen and then went into the cabin. "Time to upload that virus to the array."

Carson leaned back in the seat and stretched a little. This whole plan had better work, or they were all done for.

* * *

So that's that. Leave a review! Please, I want to know how you liked it!

Also, I know a few of you will be like, "But wait, where's the Mass Effect?" Don't worry, I get into that very quickly. But this is an example of my writing style- what do you think? What could be better, what's good, and what do you want to see more of?

...

Would it help if I promised cookies? Or +1 internets to the constructive reviews?


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